These Giant Magnets Are About to Start the Journey to Absolute Zero

Among many other things, General Electric makes the MRI machines that peek inside your body when something’s broken. To do so requires one very cold, very big magnet.

These magnets are fresh from production at GE’s magnetic resonance facility in Florence, South Carolina. In order to function properly, the magnets inside MRI machines have to be maintained at a very low temperature: they use a vacuum to sit close to absolute zero, or -273.15 Celsius.